Grotoko is an art-rock/baroque-rock solo project created by non-binary composer, multi-instrumentalist, and cartoonist, Blue McLeod.
The project’s first milestone was the release of its first two singles, “The Waiting” and “January Bird Calls,” which were released in August, 2016. Both of these singles were later re-recorded and featured on Grotoko’s first album, entitled We All Fall Down, which was released in July of 2017.
In January 2020, Grotoko toured Western Canada alongside Winnipeg punk rocker, Greg Rekus, shortly before being forced into a hiatus by Covid-19.
After the lengthy challenge navigating a recording process through a pandemic, alongside other obstacles, Grotoko’s second album, entitled Periwinkle, was finally released on December 16th, 2022. The project continues to perform across Canada year after year, and is currently beginning the recording process for the next album, entitled All of the Flowers are Dead.
Name:
The project name is Grotoko. My name as a human being is Blue McLeod.
Genre:
Art rock/Pop Punk/Baroque pop/Alternative
Founded:
2016
# of Albums:
Two (We All Fall Down and Periwinkle)
Latest Album:
Periwinkle (Which was released in December 2022)
Latest Single:
Who Killed Rosallie
Latest Video:
Favourite musician growing up:
Rise Against
Favourite musician now:
Glockabelle or Mischief Brew
Guilty pleasure song:
Chicken Talk by Richie Kavanagh, because I just cannot get over the chorus, and I still think it would slap as a punk rock cover, despite nobody agreeing with me.
Live show ritual:
I set up equipment, get some water or non-alcoholic beer, and then tune my instrument(s) for an unreasonable amount of time before going on stage.
Favourite local musician:
This is a very difficult question to answer. A lot of them are tied as my favourites. I think I would still have to choose Greg Rekus, even though I’m in his backing band now. Some other favourites of mine are the Secret Beach, On Purpose, Perception Check, Borrowed Standards, and Housepanther.
EP or LP?
LP.
Early bird or night owl?
Early bird. I am up at 4 am every day, mixing demos, drawing, or attempting to do something creative before my day job.
Road or studio?
A bit of both whenever possible. Like many other musicians and artists, the time I spend on the road or in a studio is incredibly limited by my day job and budget, but there’s absolutely nothing I enjoy more than getting out of Winnipeg to tour. As well, I find working in a studio – especially with other people who are open to crazy ideas – incredibly fun.
Any shows or albums coming up?
Grotoko will be playing on April 4th, 2026, at Park Alleys in Winnipeg. I plan on doing some sort of solo tour over the summer, and have had the next two albums on a back burner for quite some time, both of which I’m very excited about. I hope to have some new music out next year, but I’m not ready to promise a date just yet.
Where can we follow you?
You can follow the project on Instagram or Facebook, which is where you can find the most updates. My social media handle for both is @grotokomusic. You can also download my music for a price you name through Bandcamp, where occasionally I post updates as well, although not nearly as often as on Instagram or Facebook. You can find all of these links, as well as other music-related links, on my website.
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Rapid Fire Local Questions:
What is your favourite local restaurant?
Gohe Ethiopian Restaurant
What is your favourite street in your city and why?
Osborne Street because it’s generally one of the places you would find street musicians back in the day, as well as a good handful of restaurants and venues.
What is your favourite park in your city and why?
The first location that comes to mind (and I don’t know if I could really consider it a park) is Gibraltar Playground. I used to go for long walks with a notepad and recording device when I was a teenager, and I would often go to playgrounds during my walks and sit on the swings to work on ideas. One of the playgrounds I enjoyed writing at the most was Gibraltar Playground. It had a set of toy chimes, and occasionally the wind would blow through the chimes and hit notes that would trigger ideas. This location has a bit of a special place in my heart because it’s where I started writing the first-ever Grotoko song, which was called “Playground”.
What is your favourite music venue in your city?
Probably Park Alleys or Sidestage. I really enjoy playing smaller venues, especially ones with greenrooms, good non-alcoholic options, and top-notch staff.
What is your favourite music store in your city?
I don’t really have a favourite music store anymore. We’ve lost a few music stores in Winnipeg, so the options have been narrowed down. In terms of instruments, I tend to go to either Long & McQuade or St. John’s Music. In terms of records, I usually just buy directly from the artist at shows or on their websites. A record store that I do miss, though, is Vinyl Revival, which was a record store that, if I remember correctly, was also sort of a café that would have open mics, songwriting circles, and music lessons. It was owned by my friend, Darren Sawchuk, who was always incredibly supportive of local music. He unfortunately passed away from cancer, and his record store seemed to disappear shortly afterwards, but I could undoubtedly call Vinyl Revival my favourite record store of all time. It was a great place, and I had some good memories there.
